Mayor Sams Addresses Leadership Program Graduates
Tuesday, March 12th, 2024
Dalton Mayor Annalee Sams spoke to graduates of the Dalton Parks and Recreation Department's "Level Up" leadership program on Friday night and encouraged them to strive to always be their best selves and set a positive example for their classmates. The 15 students were celebrated in a ceremony with their families and also some of the leaders and mentors who helped them through the class.
Caption: Mayor Sams shakes hands with a "Level Up" program graduate during Friday night's ceremony
"Level Up" is an eight-week leadership development program for middle school-aged students at the Mack Gaston Community Center. Students meet once a week and hear presentations from community leaders, and then have small group discussions and also meet with mentors who have agreed to work with the students. The program was developed by Audrey Simmons, who is the community center's assistant manager and also a licensed therapist. Simmons used John Maxwell's book "Leading From The Lockers" in developing the course, which sets forth four pillars of leadership: integrity, attitude, commitment, and vision.
"We just sort of try to get these young people to start thinking about that really early," Simmons said. We don’t expect them to get it completely, but we want them to start thinking about having integrity, about being committed, about having a vision for yourself and having good perspective and attitude."
The Level Up program began in 2019 but was paused in 2020 due to the COVID pandemic. Originally, the program included a community service and volunteerism aspect, but Simmons says that after COVID there were fewer organizations willing to have kids come to volunteer. Future sessions of Level Up program will once again incorporate volunteerism. The first classes also included high school students, but later the focus narrowed to 7th and 8th graders.
"I noticed that the middle schoolers seemed to soak things in more. And it’s still sort of a vulnerable time to get something in there with them, to get them to thinking about something, so that’s why I’m sticking with middle school right now for the program because they’re still a little fresh," Simmons said.
Mayor Sams challenged the students to be leaders on social media, pointing out that their ability to have an impact on the community even as young people has never been greater thanks to their social media presence. The mayor pointed out that it's important to set a tone of positivity for the community because negativity drags everyone down. Mayor Sams pointed out that they should always be sure that the information they share is true. She also challenged them to take the four leadership pillars of integrity, attitude, commitment, and vision into their daily lives.
The Winter 2024 session included presentations from Whitfield County Magistrate Judge Rodney Weaver, NAACP President Marisa Kelley, Meghan Corvin from 4-H, detectives from the Dalton Police Department, motivational speaker Kit Cummings, Licensed Clinical Social Worker Christy Payne, and Rafael Huerta from the Latin American Association. Community members who agreed to serve as mentors for the young leaders were Justin Kimble, Joseph Mingle, Cory Rosenberger, Eduardo Fraire, Oscar Price, Matt Hipps, Sydnee Brown, Guadlupe Gomez, Kursten Ware, Kristy Strawbridge, Karen Vargas, Aiden Valentine, Hevelin Corchado, Kailee Thomison. The Winter 2024 Level Up session incorporated students from Dalton State College's Social Work program. The students collaborated with the Level Up program's leaders to help make the program even more valuable. They are Lauren Powell, Kristy Strawbridge, Karen Vargas, Aiden Valentine, Hevelin Corchado, Kailee Thomison, and Associate Professor Jodi Pack.
The Winter 2024 Level Up graduates are: Mary Susan Broadrick, Emma Barry, Tre Carter, Yuvi Calderon, Jalen Davis, Manny Taylor, Steven Minchew, Brisa Moreno, Oguchim Nwaba, Abigail Santos, Brantlee Simpson, Ethan Smith, Lanaya Taylor, Braylen Weaver, and Anslie Wright.
For information on future "Level Up" class sessions, follow the Dalton Parks and Recreation Department's website and Facebook page or contact Audrey Simmons at 706-278-8205.
Below: Mayor Annalee Sams poses with the Level Up Winter 2024 graduates and instructors
